Healthy teeth and gums start in infancy: ADA

By Megan Rauscher

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - As part of February's National Children's Dental Health Month, the American Dental Association reminds parents that children should visit the dentist within 6 months of getting their first tooth and no later than their first birthday.

"We like to see the child by their first birthday so we can talk to parents about good oral hygiene practices and we also do see a certain number of children who have early decay in the mouth," Dr. Kimberly Harms, ADA consumer advisor and general dentist at Rivers Edge Dental Clinic in Farmington, Minnesota, told Reuters Health.

New moms should know that babies' gums should be wiped with a damp cloth after every feeding; once a tooth erupts, it needs to be cleaned all the way around. "We have bacteria that build up in the mouth every 24 hours and we need to get rid of it," she said.

The message about the importance of children flossing has "fallen on fairly deaf ears," Harm added, partly because flossing, especially for children, is no easy task. "But there are a lot of flossing aids for kids on the market now and I have noticed in my practice a much greater acceptance of flossing since these devices have been developed," Harms told Reuters Health.

Tooth sealants, which are now routinely used to protect the chewing surfaces, have dramatically reduced the incidence of cavities in kids, Harms said. A sealant is a clear or tooth-colored plastic material that is applied to the chewing surfaces of the back teeth where decay occurs most often. Sealants protect normal depressions and grooves in the teeth which are particularly susceptible to tooth decay.

"The 6-year molars are usually the first teeth that we seal, but we do seal baby teeth if we see a certain amount of decay or if the tooth has a deep groove where bacteria can get in but your toothbrush can't," Harms explained.

In the past 20 years, preventive dental care, such as the use of tooth sealants, has fueled a significant decrease in tooth decay among school-age children with access to a dentist, Harms said.

"We are having wonderful success," Harms said, "in controlling tooth decay in children from educated families, who are getting regular check-ups, getting the sealants, getting fluoridated water, and using fluoride toothpaste, but we have a way to go for children who are not getting to the dentist in this country."